As a teenager，I felt I was always letting people down. I was rebellious1 out-side，but I wanted to be liked inside.
当我还是个10几岁的少年的时候，觉得自己总是让人失望。从外表上看，我似乎很叛逆，但是在内心深处，我是如此地渴望被人疼爱。
Once I left home to hitch-hike2 to California with my friend Penelope. The trip wasn’t easy，and there were many times I didn’t feel safe. One situation in particular kept me grateful to still be alive. When I returned home，I was different，not so outwardly sure of myself.
有一次我离开了家和我的朋友佩内洛普搭便车去了加利福尼亚。这次旅行并不轻松，而且有很多次我感觉不安。有一次的突发状况让我一直庆幸自己还活着。回到家，我发觉自己变了，看上去不那么自信了。
I was happy to be home. But then I noticed that Penelope，who was staying with us，was wearing my clothes. And my family seemed to like her better than me. I wondered if I would be missed if I weren’t there. I told my mom，and she explained that though Penelope was a lovely girl，no one could replace me. I pointed out，“She is more patient and is neater than I have ever been.” My mom said these were wonderful qualities，but I was the only person who could fill my role. She made me realize that even with my faults—and there were many-I was a loved member of the family who couldn’t be replaced.
我很高兴能回到家，但不久我注意到和我们一起的佩内洛普穿着我的衣服，而且我父母看上去更喜欢她，我想知道如果我不在家的话他们是否会想念我。后来，我把我的想法告诉了母亲，她说尽管佩内洛普是个可爱的女孩，但她始终不能取代我，我说：“她比我有耐心而且无论何时看上去她都比我要整洁大方。”母亲说这些都是非常好的优点，但我却是惟一个能扮演好自己角色的人。母亲让我感到尽管我有缺点———似乎还很多———但是，我被家中每一个人爱着，谁也无法取代。
